When she is not busy writing, she is probably spending some quality time with her husband and their son. Angel also likes hanging out with her cats occasionally. She currently resides with her family and their pets in northern Delaware part time as part of that area’s sprawl.

Martinez doesn’t just love writing or spending time with her family. She also has an addiction to attaining knowledge and beautiful things. She also really enjoys chocolate, and eating it is something of an addiction too for this author! When not writing under the name of Martinez, she lets her alter-ego compose her science fiction books for readers of all ages. The name of this alter-ego is Sandra Stixrude.

Angel Martinez is the creator and author of The ESTO Universe series. The series premiered to readers in 2012 when the debut novel was released. It is titled Gravitational Attraction. The second installment of the series came out shortly after and is titled Vassily the Beautiful. There are five books in the series.

E.S.T.O. stands for Eridani Sector Treaty Organization. This organization came to be when a rebellion was launched in desperation against a plutocracy that was not working out for the people in it– or not everyone, at least. The organization is a confederation of a variety of planets. Their original vision was to be able to create a free republic where human beings could live autonomously.

Even though their original manifest may have been clear, it soon becomes even more clear that even if an intent is good it can still fail. It is tough to maintain intent and make sure that your vision becomes a reality. Soon, ambition, self interest, and suspicion mean that the bureaucracy becomes increasingly neglectful and border wars are breaking out all over the place.

With paranoia taking hold, it is up to a few individuals to see what they can do in order to bridge the gap and finally build a peace among other worlds, races, and intelligent beings. The series and the books within it follow these individuals that are doing their best to try and make things right and find a place for humans and others in the universe to cooperate and live freely.

Gravitational Attraction is the exciting premiere science fiction novel in the ESTO Universe series. If you love intriguing and imaginative sci-fi stories, then you might want to check out this debut story in a unique series!

When a distress call mysteriously floats out of nowhere, the ship Hermes picks it up. A courier ship, the crew of this vessel are interested in who could have sent this call. They decide to follow it and offer help to whoever needs it. But when they follow the source of the call, they just find an empty vessel drifting in space.

They soon find that this troop vessel only appears to be empty as there is still one person left aboard. The crew is spooked and with good reason– the corridors of this space ship are all spattered with blood and other bodily remains. Then they find a survivor of it all, left behind in a locked holding cell.

The man is handsome but clearly traumatized. The Hermes crew decides that they will offer him help. Isaac is an officer that decides that he will take on responsibility for this survivor. Isaac shows Turk kindness and gives him everything that he needs to be comfortable after going through what clearly was some type of battle or attack.

The reason why Isaac is so compassionate beyond human decency is the fact that he can relate. He knows what it is like to feel like an outsider and totally different from everyone around you. They quickly develop a friendship based on having something in common.

Isaac was once a pilot with everything in front of him. But when the implant put into his brain didn’t align properly with his mind, his body was really damaged. He would have needed it to be able to fly the fighters, but he was forced to consider other careers.

He can relate to Turk, who seems to have a mind that has been damaged as well. However, the damage is not from trauma but from being involved in a military experiment. It of course went totally wrong and now he has found that the abilities he has have been affected by it.

Isaac soon runs into trouble when he runs into an admiral that has no problem using his power. He has no moral code and abducts the crewman for the purposes of getting Turk. He wants the survivor in order to convert him into a human weapon of massive power.

Turk is faced with an impossible situation, but luckily, he has the crew of the Hermes on his side. With some more help coming from an unlikely ally and Isaac doing whatever he can to try and turn the tides, can Turk rescue the man that helped him? Read this book to find out!

Vassily the Beautiful is the second novel in the ESTO series by Angel Martinez. Vassily is the main character and has grown up in privilege. Now he is a composer, but his life has changed forever as the result of a random accident.

His father was killed in the accident and he himself underwent brain damage. Vassily’s whole world changed and he hides from the world with his mother looking after him. When his mother suddenly brings a new husband home one day and he brings his two sons with him, it’s a massive shock.

Things get even worse when his mother is taken by pirates. Left with his mean stepfather, battling his demons and addictions is getting more difficult than ever. He has to track down a criminal to get equipment, but she will only give it to him if he gets over his addiction.

Not knowing if he can trust the criminal, this composer must overcome his fears in order to triumph. Can he do it? Read this book to find out!

All Gabriel Allon fans will be eagerly anticipating this one - your favourite spy is back in The New Girl, coming to bookshelves in mid-July. In this one, a girl is kidnapped from an exclusive private school in Switzerland and Gabriel Allon is brought on board to find her. More Details.

Recommendations

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Featured Series

if you are a fan of Jack Reacher you need to read the "Peter Ash" series by Nick Petrie. Endorsed by Lee Child himself, this is a fantastic book series and is the best recommendation I can give for any fans of Reacher. More details.

Featured Author

If you’re a fan of standalone thrillers then be sure to read any of the standalones by Brad Parks. The guy is a master! I’ve read over 50 different authors of standalone thrillers in the last year and no-one stands out like Brad. More Details.

Did You Know…

In her mid thirties Enid Blyton went through some crisis in her life which included the death of her father. This troubled her emotionally and she began to show signs of instability. She started post marital affairs and in 1941 divorced her husband to marry Kenneth Fraser, a man she had met while she was still with her first husband. However she remained in her second marriage for the rest of her life.